OBU to Offer 18 Hour Alternative Teacher Certification Program

Beginning in January 2023, OBU will offer graduate level courses leading to alternative teaching certification in the state of Oklahoma. The program includes 18 hours of coursework completed through six graduate level courses, all taught fully online, for professionals seeking alternative certification to teach in the elementary or secondary classroom. The coursework focuses on education foundations including classroom management, pedagogy and child development.

The program takes one year to complete and financial aid is available. The courses provide important knowledge and skills for professionals as they meet the requirements of the Oklahoma State Department of Education for alternative certification. OBU received approval of the program from the Higher Learning Commission in July.

Courses will begin each January, June and August, and new students may enter at any of those three starting points during the year. The program prepares students to successfully pass the necessary certification exams to become licensed teachers within the state. OBU’s undergraduate teacher education candidates have on average a 95% pass rate on their culminating certification exams, and the University seeks to help alternatively certified teachers experience similar success.

The program, dubbed Alternative Certification and Credentialing for Elementary and Secondary Schools, or “ACCESS,” will be housed in the Henry F. McCabe Family School of Education. Dr. Liz Justice, chair of the McCabe Family School of Education and associate professor of education, and Annie Keehn, assistant professor of education, will serve as co-directors of the ACCESS program.

The need for the program is great. During the 2020-21 school year, Oklahoma classrooms were staffed with 2,801 emergency certified teachers. Emergency certification is a teaching certificate issued for one year to someone who has not yet met the certification qualifications of a state-approved program. Districts may request emergency certification for a specific candidate only after exhausting every option to find an appropriately certified person for the open position.

In order to continue teaching beyond the one year granted through emergency certification, teachers must earn alternative certification, a pathway to becoming a teacher for those who did not complete an undergraduate teacher education degree program. Once students have completed the alternative certification requirements, they receive a standard Oklahoma teaching certificate and may teach indefinitely. This program helps bridge the gap for emergency certified educators to remain in the classroom long-term and also provides a path for those desiring a teaching career to earn their certification much more quickly than completing a four-year education degree.

Those interested may apply online at okbu.edu/education. Admissions requirements include a bachelor’s degree in a non-education field, a completed online application, official academic transcripts, resume, statement of purpose and two recommendation forms, with one coming from a principal if the teacher is currently working at a K-12 school.

Dr. Liz Justice, chair of the McCabe Family School of Education and associate professor of education, looks forward to the impact this program will make for Oklahoma teachers. She invested 20 years of her career in public education before joining the OBU faculty in 2015.

“The alternative teaching certificate program at OBU accelerates the route into the classroom for those who have entered or are wanting to enter the teaching profession but lack an education degree,” Justice said. “The program offers instruction for emergency and alternatively certified educators that focuses on educational theory and practice that they can immediately apply to their classroom. The program is fast-tracked and enables candidates to meet all state coursework requirements within one academic year.”

She also noted the tremendous need for alternative certification in the state of Oklahoma.

“Last year in the state of Oklahoma, there were almost 3,000 emergency certified teachers,” she said. “Teachers, administrators and education stakeholders across the state need universities to provide courses in classroom management, pedagogy and child development to support these teachers. OBU's alternative teaching certificate program will not only provide these educators with the current research-based practice but will also support these educators as they take the Oklahoma licensure exams.”

Annie Keehn, assistant professor of education and co-director of the ACCESS program, is excited to offer this option to Oklahoma educators. Before joining the OBU faculty in 2021, she served in public schools for many years as both a teacher and administrator.

“We are thrilled for the launch of the ACCESS program because of the positive impact these teachers will make on Oklahoma’s school children,” Keehn said. “School districts across the state will have more qualified teachers. For the record number of teachers pursuing alternative certification, the ACCESS program will prepare them to better meet the learning needs of their students. OBU’s McCabe Family School of Education has a long history of equipping teachers to become school leaders, and we look forward to seeing educators in the ACCESS program carry on that tradition.”

Apply or learn more about the alternative teaching certificate program at OBU.